Foldable clothes basket holder



April 1962 s. VENTO FOLDABLE CLOTHES BASKET HOLDER Filed Dec. 15, 1959 United States Patent 3,028,136 FOLDABLE CLOTHES BASKET HOLDER Salvatore Vento, 454 Glenbrook Road, Glenbrook, Conn. Filed Dec. 15, 1959, Ser. No. 859,648 1 Claim. (Cl. 248-293) The invention relates to article holder members and particularly to a holder for a clothes basket.

According to the invention, a holder is provided for the usual wicker type clothes basket so the basket filled with wet clothes may be supported on the outside of a porch railing or window sill so clothes in the basket may be attached to an overhead clothes line. Large pieces of laundry, such as sheets and spreads may be attached to the clothes line without having to hold them while being attached to the line. The holder facilitates holding a clothes basket under the end of a clothes line to hold wet clothes like sheets and spreads while they are attached to the clothes line.

The holder provided by the invention has a U-shaped member connected to a porch railing or window sill by angle brackets for swinging movement between a substantially horizontal basket supporting position and a depending position folded against the building on which it is mounted. A supporting leg or strut is pivotally connected to the central portion of the U-shaped member by a strap encircling the member. The supporting leg has opposite end portions formed in obtuse angular relation so that the portion connected with the U-shaped member extends downwardly in a more vertical direction while the lower end extends in a more horizontal direction than the upper end and carries a holding piece on the free end for engaging a portion of the building below the U-shaped member in a position between the vertical planes of the brackets supporting the U-shaped member. The supporting leg cooperates with the U-shaped member and angle brackets to engage the building and support the U-shaped member in substantially horizontal position to etfectively hold the usual clothes basket filled with wet clothes with the open upper edge just above the window sill or porch railing on which the holder is mounted. When the holder is not in use, it may be folded by moving the supporting leg on its pivot into a position adjacent the U-shaped member and then moving the U-shaped member downwardly against the building on which it is mounted.

The angle portions of the supporting leg facilitate support of the U-shaped member while clearing the bottom of a basket supported in the holder.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 shows the holder mounted in position on a building in perspective illustrating how it holds a clothes basket under a clothes line.

FIG. 2 shows the holder in folded position in perspective.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the holder in basket supporting position.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the holder as shown in FIG. 3, and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail view taken on line 55 of FIG. 3 illustrating the strap or attaching bracket for the supporting leg and its mountin on the central portion of the U-shaped member.

A foldable clothes basket holder made according to the invention has a loop or U-shaped member 1 formed of tubular pipe or the like, into substantially semi-elliptical shape to conform to the shape of the upper outside portion of the conventional wicker clothes basket used by housewives for holding clothes for carrying to and from the areas where clothes are washed and dried. The ends of the tubular pipe are flattened to provide attaching portions. The U-shaped member is particularly adapted for holding a clothes basket near and substantially under a 3,928,136 Patented Apr. 3, 1962 clothes line mounted outdoors on pulleys so the clothes may all be attached at one location and the clothes line moved with the attached clothes in a well known manner. The flattened ends of U-shaped member 1 have angle brackets or attaching members 2 pivotally secured thereto by rivets or other suitable means having the rivets engaging one of the arms of a bracket and attaching it to one of the flattened ends of the U-shaped member. Each flattened end or attaching portion on the U-shaped member has one of the brackets secured thereto. The other arm of each angle bracket 2 is attached by screws or the like to the outside edge of a porch railing or window sill, as shown at 3 in FIGS. 1 and 2. These angle brackets 2 have the outer face of the other arms engaged with the surface of the window sill or porch railing when attached thereto. TheU-shaped member extends from the window sill or porch railing in substantially horizontal position when in position for use in holding a clothes basket.

A supporting leg or strut 4 may be formed of tubular pipe or the like, with the upper end 5 formed with a fiattened end portion 6 pivotally secured to the straight end of attaching bracket 7 by a rivet or the like. Attaching bracket 7 is formed of a metal strip having the opposite end looped about the outer surface of U-shaped member 1 in the central portion. Bracket 7 has frictional engagement with U-shaped member 1 so it may be moved with leg 4, about member 1 in adjusting the position of the leg and member 1. Supporting leg 4 has the lower end 8 formed and extending in obtuse angular relation to upper end 5. This angular form of leg 4 provides for the upper end 5 extending downwardly in nearly vertical relation to clear the side of a basket supported by U-shaped member 1. Lower end 8 of leg 4 then extends in a more horizontal relation under the bottom of a basket supported in the holder toward the side of the building below the window sill or porch railing so as to engage the building and support U-shaped member 1 in substantially horizontal relation.

Supporting leg 4 has a cap member or holding piece 9 mounted on the lower free end to engage the side of the building. Cap or engaging member 9 may be in the form of a rubber foot of the type used on the lower ends of stool and chair legs for providing a suitable form of friction surface on the end of the leg to eifectively hold the leg in position against the outer side of the building. Leg 4 carries the weight of the clothes basket supported in member 1 at the outer intermediate portion and distributes it lengthwise through the leg to the building where end cap 9 is engaged therewith. This serves to hold leg or strut 4 and U-shaped member 1 in adjusted position to hold a basket full of clothes in position, so the clothes may be conveniently attached to a clothes line.

When the holder is used loop or U-shaped member 1 is supported in the horizontal position shown in FIG. 1, with supporting leg 4 extending downwardly and inwardly to engage the side of the building for supporting the outer portion of the member rigidly in position. The holder will project outwardly from the side of the building on which it is mounted so as to receive and hold the usual wicker clothes basket filled with wet clothes to be hung on a clothes line for drying. The holder is usually mounted to extend outwardly from a window sill or porch railing under'the end of a clothes line attached to a pulley secured to the building with an endless clothes line extending outwardly from the building to another pulley. The holder engages one side of the clothes basket while the opposite side engages the porch railing or window sill between the angle brackets}. With this arrangement large pieces of wet laundry such as sheets and spreads may be attached to the clothes line overhead by lifting one corner and attaching it to the clothes line while the remainder is supported in the basket. Then successive portions of one edge of a sheet or spread may be lifted up and attached to the clothes line without having to lift or hold the entire weight of the sheet. This operation provides for the weight of the sheet or spread to be held by the clothes basket except for that portion lifted up for attachment to the clothes line. As successive portions of the edge of the sheet or the like are attached to the clothes line, the line will be moved outwardly away from the building carrying the article secured thereto so the opposite side will be withdrawn from the basket so it will hang from the line until the entire article is removed from the basket. In this way, large pieces of laundry can be conveniently attached to a clothes line for drying without danger of having portions hang down and pick up dirt from a door or other surface under the clothes line: It also eliminates the necessity of the person hanging the clothes on the line, having to hold the entire weight of the piece of laundry until it is completely attached to the clothes line.

When the holder is not in use, it may be folded against the building on which it is mounted. The leg is moved on its pivotal connection with the U-shaped member from its extended supporting position into a position adjacent the U-shaped member when the U-shaped member may be moved about its pivotal connections with angle brackets 2, U-shaped member 1 is moved downwardly into a folded position adjacent the building where it is out of the way so as not to interfere with movement of people or other things adjacent the side of the building in the vicinity of the holder;

The invention claimed is:

A foldable holding bracket comprising a U-shaped member formed of an elongated tubular pipe section having the terminal portions flattened, a pair of angle brackets, one end of each bracket having a pivotal connection with one of said flattened terminal portions of said'U- shaped member and the other ends of said angle brackets being detachably connected with a support for mounting said U-shaped member in substantially horizontally extending relation from said support in article holding position and pivotally movable on said brackets into a downwardly extending position adjacent said support when not in use, a strap member encircling said U-shaped member in the central portion thereof and slidably engaged therewith, an elongated tubular prop having one end flattened and pivotally secured to said strap member, said prop having opposite end portions extending in obtuse angular relation to each other, and a holding piece mounted on the opposite end of said prop whereby the upper end of said prop will extend downwardly in substantially vertical relation from said U-shaped member in said horizontal relation and the lower end will extend inwardly towards said support to embrace the lower end of a basket suspended in said U-shaped member and said holding piece will engage the support below and between said angle brackets and cooperate with said prop in holding said U-shaped member in horizontal position, said prop being movable on its pivot to be adjacent said U-shaped member for pivotal movement of said Ushaped member on said angle brackets into folded position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 328,926 Elliott Oct. 27, 1885 2,433,275 Higby Dec. 23, 1947 2,740,532 Kleinsmith Apr. 3, 1956 2,760,806 Woodard Aug. 28, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 779,845 France Jan. 19, 1935 

